Shares of most gold miners lost ground Thursday, as a safe-haven rally in gold prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is weighed against concerns over exposure to Russia. The iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF slumped 1.1% in morning trading, reversing an earlier gain of as much as 2.0% to an eight-month intraday high, with 21 of 33 equity components losing ground. Companies within the ETF generate about 4% of total revenue from Russia over the last 12 months, based on data provided by FactSet’s proprietary algorithm. Among the U.S.-listed components, shares of Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. rose 1.5% to pace the gainers and Newmont Corp. gained 1.2%, while Royal Gold Inc. shed 0.9% and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. declined 0.8%. The Canada-listed shares of Torex Gold Resources Ltd. fell 2.1% to pace the ETF’s decliners, followed by the 2.0% drop in Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. . Meanwhile, gold futures rallied 1.0%, but pared earlier gains of as much as 3.5% to a 17-month intraday high of $1,976.50 an ounce. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, but was down as much as 2.6% earlier.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
